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Topic: The Frankenstein Chronicles (Read 72184 times)

EXCLUSIVE: British commercial broadcaster ITV is moving into boxsets as it repositions its pay-TV channel Encore into a digital service.

The network is closing the linear Encore channel, which launched in June 2014, but will keep the brand going as video-on-demand service. Encore, which was previously exclusive to Sky, will now be offered to other pay-TV platforms including cable operator Virgin Media.

Since its launch, ITV Encore has commissioned a range of high-end edgy dramas including Harlots (pictured), the prostitution period thriller produced by Alison Owen’s Monumental Pictures,and Rainmark Films’ Sean Bean-fronted The Frankenstein Chronicles.

It also co-produced Houdini & Doyle, the David Shore-exec produced drama that aired on Fox in the US, and aired Swedish noir thriller Jordskott.

The channel also runs a number of repeats of dramas from ITV’s main drama including royal drama Victoria and crime procedural Paranoid.

The move comes as the broadcaster looks to bolster up its digital offerings; the company’s on-demand service ITV Hub grew viewing by over 40% thanks to the success of shows such as Love Island.

An ITV spokesman said: “ITV has decided that the Encore channel will come to an end next spring and from that point we will be focusing on Encore purely as a boxset brand.

“Our great dramas will continue to be available to Sky viewers, but this also gives ITV the opportunity to take Encore on to other platforms, as we continue to develop our pay and distribution business to drive value from our content, making our programmes available to more people on more platforms.”

Marlott is convinced that Billy Oates and the origin of the fever killing local families will lead him to Lord Daniel Hervey.

Long Synopsis

As the Pye Street plague intensifies, Marlott is moved by the plight of the poor, left to die in abject poverty without assistance from Church or state. He tenderly conveys the bodies of the young and old to the Communal Burial Pit along with Spence, marking the doors of the dead with a cross.

Marlott runs into an old foe - the child catcher Billy Oates (ROBBIE GEE), just back in London and working for a travelling show.). Marlott goes to the sideshow’s grounds and threatens Oates. He covered for Hervey when Marlott was framed for Flora’s murder. He must know Hervey's whereabouts. Oates protests he did his time, he’s been away at sea and hasn’t seen Hervey. The proprietor of the sideshow, Mrs Wild (CLAIRE BENEDICT) has a wary eye on Marlott.

Public pressure over the clergy murders mounts on Peel, the public whipped up by lies printed in the Evening Chronicle. Peel warns Inspector Treadaway (PAUL KENNEDY) to make progress or else they’re all out of a job...

Another church murder victim is discovered in Westminster and this time the police are first on the scene. Sergeant Nightingale has the foresight to remove the body for autopsy before the Parish Watchmen arrive.

Esther works day and night to complete the embroidery on the dress for Frederick’s party, accompanied by a young Ada Lovelace (LILY LESSER).

As Esther and Frederick grow closer, her unspoken grief rises to the surface. Being a widow has made her afraid to live.

An unexpected encounter with the mysterious Frederick Dipple suggests that Marlott needs to protect his allies, who he realises are increasingly in danger.

Long Synopsis

Spence cannot hold his peace and tells the Pye Street church congregation that their water was deliberately poisoned.

It is the evening of Frederick’s party and Marlott has accompanied Esther there. The Dean of Westminster goads Peel on his failure to capture the clergy killer. A question mark now hangs over his abilities. The King is unlikely to grant Royal Ascent to his new cemetery bill. A stung Peel is outmaneuvered.

It was Bean’s presence that enticed Fox, 39, to join the cast as German aristocrat Frederick Dipple — as well as take on a strange, mysterious character.Sean’s one of my acting heroes,’ says Fox. ‘He’s very unassuming; he’s quiet and lots of powerful actors are like that. You meet them and it’s like, “Oh, you’re just a normal bloke.” Then you see them act and you go, “Oh, you’re a genius actor, I get it.”

‘We made each other giggle a couple of times. He’s lovely. I also like that you don’t know much about Dipple: he could be nice, he could be nasty. I do love a baddie. It must be the shape of my face or that I’m just plain bad — who knows?’

Marlott's new intelligence brings him closer to a solution and leads him to an apparently deserted tower. However, there are darker and colder dangers inside.

Long Synopsis

Boz confirms what Marlott always believed, Daniel Hervey is alive and well and in London. Together they confront Renquist, who refuses to give them any information, but his lackey Blackwood (CHRIS COGHILL), gives Marlott the location of an abandoned bone house, where Marlott suspects Hervey is at work. The bone house is owned by Frederick Dipple, and he uses it to store the fashionable luxury, blocks of ice.

Esther visits Dipple the day after the party and a mysterious man addresses her while she waits alone in the ballroom; he can reunite her with her son if she chooses, but it is her choice.

companied Esther there. The Dean of Westminster goads Peel on his failure to capture the clergy killer. A question mark now hangs over his abilities. The King is unlikely to grant Royal Ascent to his new cemetery bill. A stung Peel is outmaneuvered.

Inspector John Marlott (Sean Bean) of London’s River police operates at an interesting time in forensics history. The start of Season 2 of The Frankenstein Chronicles (2015-current, Seasons 1 and 2 are first and only on Showmax) is set in the year 1830. And that means there are a lot of investigative techniques that thriller and mystery fans take for granted that are, historically, simply not available to him. But that doesn’t make him helpless.

Here are five ways Marlott uses the tricks of the trade in the first half of the 19th Century to investigate his creepy cases.

Netflix will take Sean Bean’s cult hit “The Frankenstein Chronicles” to the U.S. and further afield after striking a deal for the U.K.-produced drama series, Variety has learned. The streaming service has taken both six-episode seasons and is expected to run the series as a Netflix Original in the U.S.

“The Frankenstein Chronicles” is a re-imagining of Mary Shelley’s classic novel. Set in 1830s London, Bean (“Game of Thrones”) plays John Marlott, a war veteran and river policeman. Season 1 of the serialized show sees him investigating the case of a corpse made up of body parts from different children, and finding the matter involves senior establishment figures and demonic forces.

The show has been on ITV’s Encore channel in the U.K. but the British broadcaster is closing the linear service and “The Frankenstein Chronicles” will then be one of several series available as a box-set on its catchup service. The show has been well-reviewed, but the ITV Encore pay-TV channel only attracts a modest audience in the U.K. The series is produced by U.K.-based Rainmark Films, and Frank Doelger (“Game of Thrones”) is an executive producer.